Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Deep vs. Shallow Pond (Pros and Cons)?

In Origun, the chance of losing fish to drought conditions is pretty rare no matter how deep or shallow a pond is, but for good insurance, 5 years ago I deepened my 2 acre pond to 20' deep when (seasonally) full. (2 weeks with a D-8 and rippers can really move some dirt and I had a blast to boot! ) For the record, I generally lose about 4 feet per year to evaporation which is easily replaced by Thanksgiving, as the case has been so far. Needless to say, without aeration (early Spring through Fall) to keep stratification at bay, I was getting some very heavy "turn over" the first couple of years. I didn't lose any fish, but the smell and dirty coffee color was incredible. My question is, other than shear mass of water and the stable summer water temps I can maintain, what are some of the pros and cons to having a deep pond, vs a more shallow pond, or did I just answer my own questions?

A deep pond, if you can carefully manage your oxygen profile, can sustain a two-tier fishery. You can have warmer water species, and cooler water species that both thrive, which gives you more diversity and interest.

This is a great question. I'm very much looking forward to others' responses.

Hmmm,,, Even though I have a very healthy BG, LMB and CC population being maintained at present, I have wanted to stock rainbow trout since becomming a PondMeister but the warmer summer temps have kept me away from this. I hope to learn more about this approach as the posts come in. Thanks!